By A Correspondent- Disqualified parliamentary aspirant Moses Ruwona will be hoping for bail today after his application was contested by the public prosecutor.
Ruwona’s application was challenged on the grounds that he is a flight risk with $8 million United States dollars to his name in Zambia, money he could comfortably live off should he choose to evade the courts.
The 36 year old businessman landed himself in trouble after failing to complete a payment involving free funds amounting to nearly half a million USD.
He had promised to settle these on behalf of Liquid Telecomms and Access Finance in Mauritius and China respectively.
Ruwona’s international tourism operations span Zambia, South Africa and sub saharan Africa.
Free funds, according to the law, are funds that are lawfully accumulated by a Zimbabwean resident, earned in hard currency and limitless in terms of transaction value.
During his bail application, in a desperate attempt to deflect attention from what the Investigating Officer described as “serious offences”, Ruwona’s lawyer sought to paint the defrauded complaints, Liquid Telecom and Access Finance as complicit and having contravened exchange control regulations.
However, Zimbabwean companies are fully authorised under Statutory Instrument 85/2020 and SI 109/96 to settle offshore obligations using free funds, which Ruwona purports to have by virtue of his international tourism operations.
Last week, the court heard that after being given US$630 000 by the data services company and almost half of that amount by the Harare-based investment advisory firm which also owns Access Forex, Ruwona allegedly failed to meet his end of the bargain by remitting only a portion of the offshore monies and submitting fake proof of payments.
Ruwona is also claiming political victimisation after beating Information and Communication Technology minister Jenfan Muswere in Zanu PF’s Makoni West primary elections before being disqualified.
As the case unfolds it is expected that more will be revealed about Ruwona and his international business operations.
According to comments made by a former employee of Ruwona’s Tambwari Holdings, the disgraced Makoni West candidate allegedly has a “habit” of swindling foreign nationals who would have signed up for the hunting expeditions offered by his tour company based in Victoria Falls.
On Ruwona’s official profile on an international business platform, Ruwona describes himself as a taxidermist.
Allegations against Ruwona include that foreign nationals who would have signed up for the expeditions ended up giving into the “extortion” as a legal battle outside of their jurisdictions would end up being costly and most times “Ruwona would be holding their prized hunting trophies as ransom”.
It appears however that this time, Ruwona will have to face the full wrath of the law as the victims are local Zimbabwean companies that were operating well within the guidelines of exchange control regulations and as such did not hesitate to report the crime.
The final bail ruling is at 9am this morning.